Review

Review Summary: A very engaging listen, an album that is masterful in lyricism and very polished musically. This is Rotersand’s best release to date and is overloaded with decisive moments

Much like the rest of Rotersand’s discography, they’ve remained a relatively simple band over the long course of their career. Not saying their music has been necessarily generic or oddly similar to another group of their kind, per say, it’s just saying they’ve included 4/4 beats, pulsating synthesizers, and the standard song pattern to an extent; personally that doesn’t account a negative. Despite their simple ways musically, though, they’ve never failed to shock me or I’m sure almost anyone with their breathtaking songs and magical melodies. For over seven years, Rotersand have been arranging wonderful tunes, writing tunes perfectly accessible for anyone. Luckily, the band has never hit a brick-wall in their career, and their latest effort Random is Resistance paints a picture of pure catchiness, inspiration, and furious adrenaline to deliver a booming sensation of power, and well, the best Rotersand.

Pursuing this further, there are numerous elements located here as well as many shining spots that are ultimately spectacular, both at a musical angle and overall lyricism. The beginning of the album starts off very strong with the throbbing, pulsating force of ‘Bastards Screaming’, then unfortunately falls flat towards the tail half; sadly an obvious flaw located here. But really what we have is Rotersand displaying some of their most staggering, incredibly refreshing tracks all over the course of fifty minutes or so; Random is Resistance is what you could call a welcome listen, flashing Rotersand’s musical ability to their most foremost. Aside from the negatives, though, this album from start-to-finish is highly proficient.

The best element to be found on this album is the production and mixing , in all honesty. While it’s basic futurepop-esque (loud, trance-tinged synthesizers and palpating 4/4 beats), it definitely pays off in the end and is rewarding. Playing this at a dance/night club would easily, easily dilate the crowd’s eyes; and why wouldn’t it? You have beasty melodies and pounding beats slithering away minute by minute, along with uplifting and moderately positive messages played through the choruses, altogether making it a strobelight bonanza. A couple songs that could be a similar possibility with would be ones like ‘Bastards Screaming’ or ‘War on Error’, both energy-obsessed tunes packed with a hell of a punch towards the listener. Generally speaking, though, this album is pure fun, with although ruthless songs, a lot of memorable and gentler ones too (possibly ballads and anthems).

I’m not saying this album is just inhuman and cruel; in fact, this album has more emotion than just cutthroat tunes. When you shift down to the middle-to-lower half of the album, emotion becomes more visionary, as the overall tone and aggressiveness is lighter and easy-on-the ears. The synthesizers become more delicate and the style is more atmospheric and melancholy, all making it warmer and temperate.

Some examples of this are ones like ‘Speak to Me’, a truly beautiful ballad-esque song with a heart-wrenching chorus (and the vocalist captures the pure essence with it):

“ now speak to me, i trust in you your vision's clear, your words are true your eyes reveal the world behind i've come to see what i can find in you.

That right there is something I have never managed to find on any other Rotersand record but this one, seemingly. Another nice track is ‘First Time’, the most peace-of-mind track song here, or otherwise the most mellow, dreamy one here that takes a hefty break from all the power found on the rest of the album. ‘Beneath the Stars’ is the most lyrically motivational track here, with a simple yet effective chorus and sets a perfect tone for the name itself.

As previously mentioned, the latter half is somewhat forgettable, at least for me at least. I couldn’t manage to memorize even one little synth line or anything for that matter, which was extremely surprising since the first half was outstandingly polished and was relatable lyrically. Please, don’t take my word for it though. I’m certain there will be people who contradict my views, but overall I strongly suggest listening to the upper half before venturing down yonder. Honestly though, this is a captivating album and one that is career-defining in my books

Song recs:

Bastards Screaming
Waiting to Be Born
Speak to Me
First Time
Beneath the Stars
War on Error